April 26, (THEWILL) – US long jumper, Tara Davis-Woodhall, has been suspended for one month and stripped of her national indoor title after testing positive for THC, a chemical found in cannabis.
The positive test was from a sample collected at the 2023 USA Track and Field indoor championships, the same day she had won the title with a jump of 6.99 metres. The suspension means Davis-Woodhall lost her title and all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to February 17, including forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes.
Cannabis, marijuana, and hashish are prohibited substances under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. While USADA has advocated for a fairer and more effective way to treat marijuana, it remains on the WADA Prohibited List. According to WADA rules, THC allows for a reduced three-month suspension if the athlete establishes the substance was taken out of competition and unrelated to sports performance.
Davis-Woodhall’s case was reduced to one month for those reasons and because she completed a substance abuse treatment program for her use of cannabis. Indeed, this is not the first time a US athlete has been suspended for marijuana use. In 2021, US sprinter, Sha’Carri Richardson, was suspended for a month after testing positive for marijuana and subsequently lost her spot in the women’s 100-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics.
USA Track and Field also opted not to select her as part of the women’s 4×100-meter relay pool after her suspension ended, keeping Richardson off the Olympic team.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
